Part IVThe cavalry had not been expected. Buffy had called Angel, knowing about his new practice in L.A. as a demon investigator. She was also aware Cordelia Chase and that Wesley guy were a part of Angel Inc., she just hadn’t been aware they had felt the need to tag along on the trip from the City of Angels to Sunnyhell. Surprisingly, Spike also decided to join in on the fun.
Angel was looking as dark and moody as ever, but what was to be expected? He was a couple hundred years old, he wasn’t gonna be changing any time soon. Cordy, on the other hand, though still in designer everything was quite a bit sweeter, though her bossiness and stubbornness apparently hadn’t waned.
Shades were drawn and curtains closed to make the living room comfortably dark enough for the vampire guests. When they were given the all clear, both Angel and Spike stripped off their protective outer wear and masks, tossing the garments over a chair. Spike flashed a glance at everyone before dropping into a plush armchair, picking up one of the books on the dwindling pile of those yet left to go through. Angel leaned against the living room doorframe and crossed his arms.
“You mentioned something about a Piske demon?” Angel started. Buffy nodded but Ethan shook his head. Angel quirked an eyebrow, confused.
“We’re not dealing with the demon itself, just its weapon,” The dark haired older human said as he stood from his chair. He bent over the coffee table and picked up the dagger that had been stabbed into Xander just the night before. “As far as I can tell, the design is Piske, but I’m having trouble remembering why that is so important.”
Angel accepted the dagger from Ethan, furrowing his brows as he turned the small knife over in his hands. He could smell blood on the metal…human. Xander?
“What exactly happened?” Angel asked clearly. Ethan shot a glance at Buffy. Buffy just shrugged. “No, she didn’t tell me much, just that there was an issue with a Piske and my assistance was needed. What is going on here, where is Xander?”
Unsure exactly on how to answer the loaded question, no one made a move or tried to say anything. Angel frowned and dropped the dagger back into Ethan’s hands. Spike sniffed the air and stood, walking out into the hallway and pushing open the bedroom door.
“Oi, Peaches,” Spike said, motioning into the bedroom with a tilt of his head. “Found the boy.”
Angel stepped around everyone to get to Spike at the bedroom door. Lying in Giles’ bed was a sleeping Xander Harris. Inhaling the scent permeating the room, however, proved to both vamps that the dark haired boy wasn’t just sleeping. Angel shook his head and turned back to the group.
“Anyone want to tell me why Alexander Harris is trapped in a Piske Dream?” The older vampire’s tone was icy. Spike grimaced and stepped into Giles’ bedroom, avoiding the stray rays of sunlight filtering through the closed blinds.
Carefully, as if he was afraid of waking the human boy, Spike laid himself out next to Xander on the bed. He leaned in close and sniffed at Xander’s hair, face and neck. The boy had a naturally sweet scent, like chocolate and butter cream frosting. Unfortunately, there was also a bitter, sickly smell now attached; the smell of near death. Spike couldn’t help but feel a sharp pang of something in his chest, right about where his heart would be, if he admitted to still having one.
“Stupid boy, what did you do this time?” Spike whispered, flicking a stray dark lock away from Xander’s nose. Angel listened as Spike made himself comfortable next to Xander, the smallest of smiles threatening to turn up the corners of his normally frowning lips.
“A…what?” Giles was the first to speak. Angel’s eyes flicked to Giles.
“Piske Dream. To be cut by a Piske dagger opens up a kind of portal inside the mind, which can suck the conscious into the subconscious. Some demons, even some humans, tend to deal in the daggers almost like dealing in drugs, like cocaine or LSD. Supposedly the experience can be life changing; some people will purposely put themselves in this type of vegetative state just so they can at least think they’re living the life they really want.” Angel grabbed the dagger again. Willow blinked up at the dark haired vampire, her mouth slightly agape.
“What does that mean for Xander? He didn’t do this to himself, that vampy did it!” Willow squeaked. Angel quirked an eyebrow.
“We were on patrol and one of the vamps grabbed Xander. Before we could do anything, he shoved the knife right into Xander’s chest and ditched.” Buffy interjected. Cordelia wrinkled her nose.
“Great, some vamp grabbed a Pixie Dagger and Xander’s now high on dreams.” She looked genuinely concerned. Angel rolled his eyes.
“Piske, not Pixie, but close enough.” He said as he maneuvered his way to grab the seat Spike gave up in favor of the spot next to Xander. Oz nodded as he worked out what Angel told the Scoobies in his head.
“Kay, but,” Oz spoke up, gaining Angel’s attention. “How do we wake him up? Does he have to just sleep through it and let it run its course, or is there, like, an anti drug?” Angel rubbed his temple. Ethan suddenly snapped his fingers and a huge grin spread across his face. Everyone suddenly looked at the older human as if he’d just done something insane.
“I remember now!” Ethan jumped up from his seat and sped out of the living room, passing by everyone as he rushed through Giles’ home into the library. Giles blinked, confused.
It didn’t take long for Ethan to return with whatever it was he was looking for. To the amusement of Angel, and the utter confusion of everyone else, it was a book of fairytales. Ethan grinned at Giles before he flipped the book open to one of the stories.
“It took that misunderstanding between Pixie and Piske, but I finally remembered,” He said as he handed the open book to Giles. Giles took it, but his face still displayed his confusion.
“Sleeping Beauty?” Giles asked incredulously. Ethan nodded. Giles apparently was still not understanding. Ethan pointed at the story.
“Piske work.” He stated. Buffy pushed the hair in her face back, holding it away from her eyes.
“Uh…okay, what? The fairytale about a princess and a spinning wheel was, what, real?” The blonde slayer asked. Both Ethan and Angel nodded in unison. Buffy threw a shocked look at Angel.
“It’s true. Some odd hundred years ago some high and mighty princess in Wales refused to allow certain demons to be present at her wedding, even though they had all been on good terms until then. Something about how bad it would look to the majority of the guests who were, of course, human. Anyway, legend has it that a Piske sent a gift of a spinning wheel and the princess, in her greedy joy, leapt at the gift to give it a spin and jabbed herself with the needle; in essence, a miniature Piske dagger.” Angel explained. Willow couldn’t help but giggle.
“Are you saying Xander needs his one true love to kiss him?” She asked. Angel thought a second before nodding, then changed his mind and shook his head.
“It isn’t quite that simple. The fairytale may say that’s how you wake someone up from a Piske coma, but that isn’t how it’s done in real life.” He stood and walked over to Giles, skimming the story laying open in the Watcher’s lap. “Kissing could be involved, or it might take intercourse. It definitely takes someone who would make him feel like life was worth more in the real world than in his dreams.” Cordy groaned.
“Well, looks like we can just say good bye to Xander. No one’s got a chance against that boy’s fantasies.”
Back to Part III
On to Part V
